Golden Carrot Soup

It's easy to pile on pounds during the cooler months (it's Autumn in Australia) and I don't like eat cold salad when the chilly weather comes around. Soups come to the rescue. I have this cookbook - Low GI diet cookbook - that I always turn to whenever I need to lose some pounds. It works for me every time.

This golden carrot soup is my of my favourite recipes from the cookbook. It's fillings, full of nutrients and with only few kilojoules.

Golden Carrot Soup
(Adapted from The Low GI Diet Cookbook by Prof Jennie Brand-Miller, Kaye Foster-Powell and Dr Joanna McMillan Price)
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
5 large carrots (about 1kg / 2 lb 4 oz), diced * use winter carrots, as they have more flavour than the tiny spring and summer carrots
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 bay leaves
1.25 litres (44 fl oz / 5 cups) beef or chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper
Flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the carrots, onion, garlic and bay leaves and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Put the stock in another saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour the boiling stock over the vegetables and simmer for 15 minutes, or until tender.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and remove the bay leaves. Allow the soup to cool a little, then transfer to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Season with pepper. If the soup is too thick, add some extra stock.
4. Serve garnished with parsley.

Note: As a variation, garnish the soup with small pieces of grilled bacon, or top with a dollop of garlic-flavoured low fat yoghurt.